ING’s 4Q results show strength in challenging environment
ING’s 4Q results show strength in challenging environment
20 February 2008
- 4th-Quarter underlying net profit up 23.9% to EUR 2,617 million, supported by gains on equities
- Underlying profit supported by EUR 1,028 million of gains on ABN Amro and Numico shares in 4Q
- Net profit increases 18.1% to EUR 2,482 million, or EUR 1.18 per share
- Full-year underlying net profit increases 19.4% to EUR 9,172 million
- Net profit rises 20.1% to EUR 9,241 million, or EUR 4.32 per share
- Annual dividend proposed at EUR 1.48 per share, an increase of 12% from 2006
- Business profile and risk management shield ING from direct impact of credit and liquidity crisis
- EUR 194 million pre-tax losses through P&L on subprime and related issues in 4Q
- No impairments on Alt-A RMBS, reflecting high intrinsic credit quality of ING’s portfolio
- EUR 751 million negative revaluations on subprime, Alt-A, CDOs through shareholders’ equity in 4Q
- Capital position remains strong with ratios well within targets
- Tier-1 ratio to increase to 9.9% under Basel II as of 1 January 2008
- ING shows robust commercial growth, despite more challenging environment
- New life insurance sales up 26.8% in 4Q, driven by Central Europe, Asia, the US and Latin America
- Volumes in banking continue to grow, with loans and advances to customers up EUR 24.5 billion in 4Q
- Embedded value of the life business up 17.1% in 2007 to EUR 32,460 million on new business contribution
Chairman’s Statement
“In 2007 we continued to deliver on our strategic priorities without distraction from the market turmoil,” said Michel Tilmant, Chairman of ING. “We made significant investments to grow organically, we acquired new platforms for growth in developing markets, such as Oyak Bank in Turkey, and we expanded our pension franchise in Latin America. We also embarked on initiatives to improve efficiency, including the transformation of our Retail Banking businesses in the Benelux.”
“Our business profile and solid risk management have helped shield ING from the direct impact of the credit and liquidity crisis. Impairments, markdowns and trading losses through the P&L were limited to EUR 194 million before tax in the fourth quarter. There were no impairments on our Alt-A mortgage-backed securities, reflecting the high intrinsic credit quality of the portfolio. Market circumstances led to negative revaluations of EUR 751 million before tax on subprime and Alt-A RMBS and CDOs through shareholders’ equity in the fourth quarter. ING’s exposure to the riskiest assets is limited, and the RMBS investments we selected have a high level of structural credit protection to absorb significant losses as the US housing crisis deepens.”
“As the economic uncertainty and market volatility have increased, the operating environment has become more challenging. Lower equity markets and revaluations of real estate and private equity have increased volatility in underlying earnings.ING continued to deliver strong commercial growth, as the fundamentals of our business are solid. New life sales increased 26.8% in the fourth quarter, driven by Central Europe, Asia/Pacific, Latin America and record sales of variable annuities in the US. Volumes in banking continued to grow, with loans and advances to customers up EUR 24.5 billion in the fourth quarter.”
“ING’s capital position is strong, particularly after the introduction of Basel II, and ING is entering 2008 in a position of strength. We have sharpened our strategic focus on banking, investments, life insurance and retirement services. We will continue to assess our business portfolio in the context of our ambition to provide retail customers with the products they need to grow savings, manage investments, and prepare for retirement. ING has ample room to fund organic expansion and add-on acquisitions, and we will continue to reinforce our franchise to drive commercial growth. Creating value for shareholders remains paramount, and ING has proven its commitment to enhance shareholder returns through an attractive increase in dividends and the ongoing EUR 5.0 billion share buyback.”
Webcast Analyst Conference, 20 February 2008, 9:00 London time (10:00 Amsterdam time)
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Presentation available with webcast at www.ing.com
Webcast Press Conference, 20 February 2008, 11:30 London time (12:30 Amsterdam time).
Presentation available with webcast at www.ing.com
Combined US Investor and Embedded Value presentation call, 20 February 2008, 16:00 London time (17:00 Amsterdam time)
Presentation available with webcast at www.ing.com
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Certain of the statements contained in this release are statements of future expectations and other forward-looking statements. These expectations are based on management’s current views and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Actual results, performance or events may differ materially from those in such statements due to, among other things, (i) general economic conditions, in particular economic conditions in ING’s core markets, (ii) performance of financial markets, including developing markets, (iii) the frequency and severity of insured loss events, (iv) mortality and morbidity levels and trends, (v) persistency levels, (vi) interest rate levels, (vii) currency exchange rates, (viii) general competitive factors, (ix) changes in laws and regulations, and (x) changes in the policies of governments and/or regulatory authorities. ING assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking information contained in this document